This time it's Dramaturgy: All Made Up @ Edfringe 2015

All female improv group All Made Up who are in Edinburgh this year with their latest show #This Time it’s Social to Just The Tonic at The Mash House from 6th August - 30th August 2015


Created by audience suggestions, live Facebook feeds, trending hashtags and even the mighty Google itself, this sell-out social media-inspired extravaganza is quick, intelligent, fun and totally worth tweeting about.

The Fringe
What inspired this production: did you begin with an idea or a script or an object?

An object. The Internet. 

Where does your piece at the fringe fit with your usual work?

It fits perfectly with every stolen second at work spent on Facebook and Twitter. 

What can the audience expect to see and feel - or even think - of your production?

Involved. But not in a get-up-on-stage-scary-way. We get audience suggestions and also make scenes from their friends' boring Facebook statuses. 

The Dramaturgy Questions

 How would you explain the relevance - or otherwise - of dramaturgy within your work?

Improv is the naughty little sister of dramaturgy. Just making stuff up on the spot and constantly breaking all the rules, and your Star Wars figures. 

 What particular traditions and influences would you acknowledge on your work -  have any particular artists, or genres inspired you and do you see yourself within their tradition?

Improv is a bit like clowning. So at some level we've all been influenced by Ronald McDonald. 

Do you have a particular process of making that you could describe - where it begins, how you develop it, and whether there is any collaboration in the process?
Unlike a scripted show, we have to try and get out of our own heads and enjoy fucking it up. That's the tricky bit, especially when every atom in your body is telling you to play it safe and do some tried and tested characters or jokes so you don't look a fool. 

Fools are funny though. 

What do you feel the role of the critic is? 
Once you've had a word with your inner critic, no outside critic can really do much damage. And if they say nice things, we give them a hug.

Are there any questions that you feel I have missed out that would help me to understand how dramaturgy works for you?
We don't over analyse our work too much. We watch, we learn, we experiment, but overthinking can kill comedy. And no one wants that.